We Still Are Made Of Greed
by Summer90
Summary: Arthur makes a deal to save Eames' life. Part of my Demons Series. Prequel to Don't Want To Let You Down and Can't Escape This Now. There is a major character death but if you read the other parts that won't come as a surprise to you.


**Hey everyone! Got another story for ya! This one is part of my Demons series. The other two parts are Don't Want to Let You Down and I Can't Escape This Now. You don't have to read those first if you don't want to, because technically this one is a prequel, but still, those give you a better idea what has all happened and all that. But whatever floats your boat.**

**So yeah, enjoy! And I don't own anything.**

* * *

**We still are made of greed**

The gun shot rang throughout Arthur's ears, making everything else silent as the sound echoed off the walls around him. He knew without looking behind him that the bullet had hit its target.

He and Eames were doing a normal job under a normal employer when things just went to hell. The mark figured it out and then their employer double crossed them. They hadn't even seen it coming which is exactly why they were now running for their lives. Arthur was leading the way to where he had a car waiting for such an emergency. Eames was following behind, making sure they were not being followed too closely.

"Arthur…" Eames whispered and Arthur really did not want to turn around. He knew this would slow them down and would get them killed. But it was Eames. He had to make sure he was alright.

Arthur turned around only to find that Eames was now leaning against a nearby wall. He was clutching at his chest and breathing heavily.

"Eames." Arthur ran forward and moved Eames' hand out of the way. Eames' shirt was staining red and Arthur just felt sick to his stomach.

"You need to go Arthur. Save yourself."

"I am not leaving you here to die."

"I am only going to slow you down." Arthur didn't answer him. He just pulled his gun out and waited. He knew the guys were close. They were just waiting for some sign. From what he saw there were only two of them that were following them. He could kill both of them easily. He usually never killed people outside of the dream but this was an exception.

They had shot first.

Arthur heard the footsteps approaching. Two shots. That's all the time that he had. He watched as they walked pass the wall he was standing by and heard towards where Eames was.

Arthur aimed and fired twice. Both men went down in an instant.

Arthur made his way back to Eames and wrapped an arm around him, hoisting him up.

"Arthur, I'm not going to make it. I will only slow you down."

"Eames, I am not leaving you behind and that is that."

"Arthur…" Arthur turned and pulled Eames into a quick kiss.

"Eames. I am not leaving you. You are going to survive this, I promise." Arthur didn't wait for an answer. He just dragged Eames away and to the car.

Once they got to car, Arthur put Eames in the backseat before getting in himself and driving away. Arthur could hear Eames breathing in the back and it was getting quieter and quieter as he continued to drive.

Arthur didn't know what to do. He knew he should go to the hospital but he was not prepared with papers or anything like that. He had nothing. He should have been more prepared but damnit, he was sure that this job was going to go smoothly.

Everything went silent. Arthur looked back and saw that Eames wasn't moving.

"Eames!" Arthur shouted as he veered off the road. He jumped into the back seat and shook Eames. He wasn't waking but he was breathing, but barely. "Shit." Arthur pulled out his phone and called the one person he knew would know what to do.

"Hello?"

"Dom, I need your help."

"Arthur? Arthur, what's wrong? You sound awful." Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to remain calm.

"Eames has been shot. He is passed out right now. Dom…I…" His voice cracked. "I don't know what to do."

"Arthur, calm down."

"I can't." Arthur felt his breathing begin to increase. He was freaking out and close to a panic attack.

"Arthur. Take Eames to the hospital. That is the only way. He needs professional help. That is what he needs and it would be best for him."

"Alright. But I don't have names or anything."

"That doesn't matter. His life is more important than some of his cons."

"Alright. Okay."

"Text me which hospital. I will try and be there as soon as possible."

"Okay." Arthur hung up and wiped his eyes. He needed to get a hold of himself. He needed to be strong, to stay strong, for Eames. He crawled back into the front seat and drove as fast as he could to the nearest hospital.

* * *

Arthur paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. He had been here all night and hadn't heard anything from any of the doctors. It was now almost ten o'clock in the morning and still nothing. Eames had gone into surgery and that was the last Arthur had heard from them.

Dom had showed up a few hours ago and was trying his best to comfort Arthur but it wasn't really working. Arthur knew it was bad. He knew that nothing good ever comes from waiting this long.

"Mr. Callahan?" Arthur turned and saw the doctor walking towards them. Finally.

"Yes."

"You are with Mr. William Eames?"

"I am his partner, yes." Arthur said, stepping towards him. He had made that perfectly clear when he had brought Eames in.

"We performed the surgery on William to remove the bullet. He did great throughout the surgery. There were no major complications and we were able to retrieve the bullet."

"Well that's good." Arthur replied. That was what was important.

"Yes. But, unfortunately, the bullet did too much damage." Arthur felt like his heart had just jumped into his throat.

"What?"

"He is dying, Mr. Callahan. I am sorry, but there is nothing that we can do. He is in fine spirits but he knows what is going on. There is no definite time limit, but I would say just a few hours." Arthur was silent as he processed all of this information. How could that tiny little bullet do so much damage? How could it take Eames away from him?

"Can I go see him?" Arthur asked.

"Of course." Arthur didn't even turn to look at Dom. He just made his way straight to Eames' room.

Eames was lying in his bed just staring at the wall. He looked pale and nothing like the man Arthur had known.

"Hey." Eames looked over and smiled.

"Hey." Arthur walked over and sat down on the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Arthur reached forward and grabbed his hand. This all felt like a dream, but he knew it was real. And touching Eames was the only way to fully bring him the confirmation that this was real.

"Good. I'm tired. Really tired."

"I know. Are you in pain?"

"No. They gave me some pain medication." Arthur smiled and squeezed his hand.

"That's good. That's really good." Arthur could feel the tears in his eyes and he knew he wasn't supposed to cry. He needed to be strong for Eames. He had to.

"I love you Arthur."

"Don't…" Arthur choked out. He didn't need Eames to be doing this right now. It wasn't the time for goodbyes just yet.

"They told me I am dying Arthur. There is nothing that you can do." Arthur squeezed Eames' hand as he let out a small sob.

"I can't lose you, Eames. I can't."

"Arthur, this is the way it is supposed to be. There is nothing you can do. I was bound to die sometime."

"Eames, don't just give up on me. You can just give up. Not after everything we have done."

"I'm not. I just…" Eames let out a small cough as he looked away from Arthur. "I wish you didn't have to see me like this Arthur." Arthur reached forward and ran his fingers through Eames' hair.

"I know." Eames closed his eyes and Arthur knew that he was asleep again. He knew that Eames would be in and out of consciousness until he died. That was how they usually did it so they didn't feel much pain. "I love you Eames and I am not going to just wait here and let you die." He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Eames' forehead.

Arthur needed to talk to Dom. There had to be something he could do, or he had to know of someone who was better than these doctors who could help him.

As Arthur left the hospital room, he felt someone following him. He turned around and saw a woman. She must have been a nurse based on what she was wearing. He didn't recognize her at all, but she seemed pretty harmless.

"Can I help you?"

"You are a friend of Mr. Eames, right?" She asked. She was looking around like she was nervous.

"Yes. What do you want?"

"Look, I know he is dying okay. I was helping with the surgery. And there is a way that you can save him."

"What?" Arthur took a step closer.

"There is this man, Markus. He does deals of some sort. You can go to him and he will help you."

"How can some man help me? What does he do?"

"Just go. He can help you. All you have to do is go to the crossroads just on the outside of town. You leave town on Pine and just follow that. You can't miss it."

"I don't understand. What can he do?"

"Just go. You don't have much time." Before Arthur could say anything else, the woman was gone. He knew he shouldn't believe this woman. There was no way he knew whether or not she was really a nurse. She could be distracting him from spending time with Eames.

But Arthur was desperate. He would do anything to save Eames. So his decision was made. Arthur left the hospital.

Dom questioned him on where he was going but he wouldn't tell. He just told Dom to stay by Eames and let him know if anything happened.

Arthur just got in his car and left.

* * *

Arthur pulled up to the crossroads and stopped his car. He took a deep breath and stepped out. The woman had been very vague about what exactly he was supposed to do when he got here.

He walked up to the abandoned crossroads. The sign there were old and broken. It looked like if you touched it, it would fall off and shatter into a million pieces. This looked like the ideal place for teenagers to come and hang around at when it got dark.

He really hoped this wasn't some joke. He would be overly pissed and would have to kill that nurse if it was.

He looked around and saw that there was no one else here for miles. Seriously, how was he supposed to find this Markus guy?

"Hello." Arthur jumped and turned around. There, standing by the road sign, was a man. He was tall and lanky. He had long shaggy black hair with dark grey eyes. He was pale and his smile held something dark inside of it.

But he was dressed up like he was going to a party or something. He was dressed like some innocent man but his face held the guilt of fifty men.

"Markus?" Arthur asked, stepping forward.

"The one and only." Markus replied, grinning at him. He reminded Arthur of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. "You must be Arthur." Arthur really shouldn't have come here. This was a bad idea.

"How do you know who I am?"

"I know all about you Arthur."

"Um…"

"But that is for another time. Today, you are here to help your beloved Eames." Arthur didn't feel comfortable with this. He really should go. This whole area just didn't feel right.

"I'm sorry. But I don't quite understand what exactly this is…"

"Why, my dear Arthur, I am a demon. You are at my crossroads to make a deal."

"A demon?"

"Yes." Markus looked over at him again and Arthur saw the black in his eyes. He immediately stepped back.

"I don't think I should be here."

"I can save him, you know. Eames. He can live, if you want it."

"He can?" Arthur completely forgot about Markus being a demon with the small fact that Eames could live.

"But of course. The only thing is, are you willing to pay the price for his life?"

"Um…" Markus just laughed.

"Arthur, my dear Arthur. I make deals. That is my job. I come and help the people that need it most. But, with deals, there comes a price. Nothing comes for free, you know. In order for me to give you something valuable, you must give me something valuable in return."

"What do you want? What do I have that I could offer you?" Markus smiled.

"Your soul, obviously."

"What?"

"Saving one soul to sacrifice another, I think that is a pretty good deal." Arthur looked down.

"But, if I give you my soul, I will be damned." He knew how this worked. He didn't want to spend eternity in Hell being tortured every day. Who would want that?

"But you will get to spend the rest of your life with Eames."

"What exactly am I giving up?" He needed to know everything about this deal before he just agreed to it. He wasn't that desperate to just go into a deal without knowing what he was doing.

"You will give up your soul to Lucifer until you can attain 1000 souls."

"Just 1000 souls? And then I am free?"

"Of course."

"And Eames will live?"

"Yes."

"When does he take my soul?" Arthur may be desperate but he knew there is always a catch.

"He will take your soul whenever Eames dies. Your soul is safe until his soul is gone."

"I don't know about this." He knew he shouldn't be making deals with demons. It was unethical and it always ended up badly.

"Do you want to live with Eames longer? It would all be worth it in the end." Arthur was silent for a bit. He really needed to think about all of this. But he wanted to live with Eames. He wanted Eames to live. There was so much that they hadn't gotten to do.

And he would only have to give up his soul whenever Eames died. It would all work out in the end. They would live long happy lives and in the end. It would be worth it.

"Alright."

"You take the deal?" Markus asked, stepping forward.

"Yes. I take the deal."

"Good. Now, all we do is just shake on it, and the deal will be done." Markus stuck out his hand. Arthur took a deep breath and reached out and took his hand. A small light appeared between them before slowly disappearing.

"So, Eames is okay?" Arthur asked. Markus just laughed as Arthur's phone went off. He looked down and saw it was Dom. "Hello?"

"Arthur! Eames is fine. The doctors say it is a miracle but something happened and he is going to live!" Arthur looked over and saw that Markus was now gone. The road was quiet again. It felt like it didn't even happen.

"I will be there soon." Arthur said, hanging up. He ran over to the car and made his way back to the hospital.

* * *

Arthur ran into the hospital and up to Eames' room. He pushed open the door and saw Dom sitting in a chair while a doctor and a few nurses stood by Eames' bed.

"Eames?" Arthur whispered. The doctor moved away and turned to look at him.

"Ah, Mr. Callahan." Arthur looked over and saw that Eames was now sitting up in the bed, smiling and looking better than ever. "I have some good news." Arthur stepped forward, a smile coming to his face.

"He is alright?" He asked, glancing from Eames to the doctor and back to Eames again.

"It is a miracle." Arthur walked over to Eames' bed as the nurses moved away.

"We will let you two be alone." One of the nurses said as they all left the room. Dom squeezed Arthur's shoulder before he made his way out, closing the door.

"Arthur." Eames smiled as Arthur ran over to him, pulling him into a passionate kiss before crawling on the bed and cuddling next to him. He could not believe it.

"I missed you. Where did you go?"

"I went out, to try and help you. I guess it worked, since you are perfectly fine." Eames smiled, pulling him close again.

"What did you do?"

"Let's just keep it as my secret. It makes the story so much better if it is seen as a miracle."

"Alright." Eames let out a small sigh, rested his head on Arthur's shoulder. "But someday, you will have to let me know."

"Someday." Arthur promised. But that day would be a long time from now.

Right now, they had their whole lives a head of them.

* * *

Arthur was alone in his apartment. He was in the middle of another job, well, he was the middle of prepping for another job. He had agreed to do it and was in the process of getting all the information together and would be leaving for Berlin in about a week.

His laptop was open and was in the process of downloading all the of mark's bank records. His house was a complete mess at the moment, so he took this time to clean everything up.

Eames had just been here a few nights ago. He did pretty much live with Arthur now, but if you wanted to be official about it, they still haven't exactly moved in together.

Ever since he got shot, which was three years ago, Arthur liked to have Eames by him most of the time. They usually always did jobs together and Arthur made sure that Eames' primary home was with him.

Eames still had his house in Mombasa and they went there every so often, usually to relax after a job well done. Eames also had a home in London, which he barely ever did visit, but it was still there. They crashed there if they were around.

And Arthur had one in Paris.

So even after three years, things were still a bit complicated. But Arthur spent as much time as he could with Eames. He knew what it was like to almost lose him, and he did not want to experience that again.

But everything was going great between them. And even though Eames made quite the mess when he was there, Arthur enjoyed it. He was finding himself becoming quite lenient when it came to Eames.

In fact, whenever Arthur wasn't working, he usually lounged around the house in Eames' old shirts. No one would be seeing him so it didn't really matter.

Like right now, Arthur was in jeans and a t-shirt, but he had on one of Eames' purple stripped shirts on. He liked it because they smelt like Eames and it helped make him feel like Eames was there with him, when he wasn't.

Eames was gone away on a gambling trip. Arthur hated that he gambled all his money away, but he couldn't just tell him to stop, so in order to compromise, Arthur let him go on a gambling trip every few months. And Eames always called him every night to let him know that he was alright.

When Eames was gone on these trips, it gave Arthur time to fully clean the apartment. He looked over at his laptop and saw that he still had some time left before the download was complete.

He walked around, picking up Eames' clothes that had gathered around the room and slowly put them in the laundry basket. Honestly, the basket was out in the open, he didn't know why Eames refused to use it.

He was about to do a load of laundry when the phone rang. And it wasn't Arthur's cell phone. It was the home phone. And his home phone was a private number. No one knew that number, not even Dom. In fact, only he and Eames knew that number.

It was only for emergencies, hence, he and Eames had it on their person in case anything happened. That means something was wrong.

Arthur ran for the phone and just stared at it for a bit before he found the courage to pick it up.

"Hello."

"Mr. Callahan?" It was a professional voice, all seriousness, with a hint of an accent. This was not going to be good.

"Yes. This is him."

"I am calling because I need you to come and identify a body for us." Arthur felt his heart stop.

"A body?" Arthur choked out.

"Yes. On the body was your name and number. We think the body is that of a Mr. William Eames." Arthur let out a small sob as he fell to the ground. He thought he may have even dropped the phone, but right now he didn't care.

He was silent for a bit before the man brought him back to reality. He was coherent enough to let the man give him the information before he hung up. He couldn't stand up. He couldn't move. He felt the tears rolling down his face and he knew, he knew he had to call someone.

He needed to talk to someone. But he couldn't. What would he say?

He needed to be sure.

Eames had faked his death countless times. Usually he let Arthur know, but maybe it was an emergency and he couldn't contact Arthur in time.

He would have to go and ID the body and prove that Eames was still alive and out there somewhere. Arthur wiped away the tears and pulled himself together and got on the first plane out of New York.

* * *

The morgue was dark and cold. Arthur hated being there already. The man in charge, Charles Allan, showed Arthur the way to the very back where the body was supposed to be.

Arthur still refused to believe it was Eames. On the plane ride there, he had thought of all the different ways he would be able to tell that this body was no way Eames.'

"Now, Mr. Callahan, is there anything distinctive about Mr. Eames that can help you ID him."

"His face isn't enough?" Arthur asked, getting a little bit worried.

"His face is in bad shape. Whoever it was that attacked, really didn't want him to be recognized." Arthur felt sick. He really hoped that it wasn't Eames.

Charles pushed through a wide black door into a cold room. Arthur pulled his jacket tighter as he saw the outline of a body under a white sheet lying on a table.

"This way." Arthur nodded and walked up to the table. "Now, I am going to let you pull back the blanket so you can take your time and do it whenever you are ready." Arthur let out a deep breath before reaching out to grab the white blanket.

He had seen quite a bit of dead bodies in his time, especially in his line of work. But this was different. He had never seen the body of someone he actually loved.

He slowly pulled back the blanket and his voice hitched when he saw the face. Charles was right, his face was unrecognizable. It was all beat up and bruised. Arthur even thought that perhaps his face was cut to make sure no one knew who he was. Arthur took another deep breath as he pulled the blanket further down.

Arthur let go when he saw that familiar scribble of ink that covered Eames' collarbone.

"No." He whispered. He should have stopped there. He didn't need to torture himself more, but he had to. He had to find out more. He slowly reached back up and pulled the blanket down further.

He knew that these tattoos were all Eames', but his mind didn't want to believe it. There was one tattoo that he knew would be the deciding factor.

"Can I touch the body?" Arthur whispered.

"Yes." Arthur looked up as Charles handed him two plastic gloves. Arthur pulled on the gloves and grabbed the body's hand. Eames had gotten a new tattoo, after getting shot, to remind him of Arthur. Arthur had been against it at first, but he had silently grown attached to it later.

On the inside of his arm, Eames had a small dice tattooed, resembling Arthur's totem. Arthur was quite upset at first, mainly because he wondered how Eames knew enough about his totem to get it perfect in detail to tattoo in the first place.

Arthur slowly turned the arm over and felt his heart leap up into his throat. There was the dice. Arthur let out sob.

"Eames…" He whispered, moving closer to look at the face. He leaned forward and could see that those lips were none other than Eames'.

He can't be dead. He can't be.

"I see." Charles let out a deep breath. "I will go and fill out the paperwork and let you have some time alone." Arthur didn't even glance up at him. He heard the door close and knew that he was alone.

"Eames, why? We were supposed to spend our lifetime together. What did you do?"

"Poor thing." Arthur tensed up at the new voice. He hadn't heard anyone else come in here. He turned around and saw an older man walking towards him. He was wearing a black suit and it looked like he was emitting smoke, like he had been on fire. "Such a horrible way to leave this world."

"Who are you?" Arthur asked, looking around. He needed Charles to come back in and make sure that this man was supposed to be in here.

The man didn't answer him. He just walked up and looked down at Eames.

"Beautiful man. You had great taste Arthur."

"Who the fuck are you?" Arthur hissed out. The man just laughed.

"Right. Sorry. I am being rude. I have many names, but most people know me as Lucifer." Arthur's eyes widened.

"Lucifer." Lucifer just smiled.

"Yes. Oh, your face right now is priceless. But it really shouldn't be. You knew this was coming. I do believe we had a deal."

"What?"

"Oh Arthur, do not tell me you forgot." Lucifer just remained looking down at Eames. "We made a deal. Well, you technically made the deal with Markus, but it goes to me. I saved Eames for you and in return you owe me 1000 souls."

"Oh. Right. But don't I get some time. I mean, I just found out he was dead."

"Yes, of course. I am not completely heartless." Arthur wanted to roll his eyes at that. This was the devil he was talking to. "You can bury him and all that but after, you belong to me." Arthur looked up at him.

"Alright."

"Good. I look forward to our time together, Arthur. I have been waiting for this for a while now."

"Have you?" Arthur couldn't help it.

"Oh yes. I have had my eye on your for a while now. I just needed to perfect opportunity." Arthur glared at him. He looked into Lucifer's eyes. He realized that he knew them from somewhere.

"You were the nurse." He accused.

"Excuse me?" A small smile began to appear on Lucifer's face.

"The nurse at the hospital. The one who told me to go to Markus. That was you, wasn't it?"

"Guilty." Lucifer laughed. Arthur wanted to punch him, but he knew there would be dire consequences if he did that. "See you soon Arthur. Oh, and I am sorry for your loss." Within seconds, Lucifer was gone just as fast as he had appeared.

* * *

The funeral was small. Arthur knew that Eames had no family left, so it was really just acquaintances of both of them that came. Arthur didn't really know who to really invite to a funeral. He was new at this sort of thing.

He invited Dom and Ariadne, and even made a call to Yusuf. Arthur knew that they had become close while in Mombasa. Eames wasn't one for friends. He never really trusted anyone. So, if he was close to anyone, that meant they meant something to him.

It was raining.

But, of course, it had to rain today. It had to rain on his funeral.

It wasn't a soft drizzle either, it was full on pouring.

Arthur had become distant since Eames' death. He had called everyone and told them that Eames had died, but that was it. When asked for details Arthur just remained quiet and hung up.

He didn't want to talk about it. He didn't even want to think about it. It had been a few days since he found out, but it still didn't seem real. He couldn't believe that Eames was actually lying in the casket right now, about to be put into the ground.

He knew they all had questions about it. Eames was not one to be take advantage of. But Arthur thought it would be better if they didn't know what happened.

They didn't have to know why Eames had to have a closed casket funeral. No one needed to know the details. It was bad enough that he knew them. No one else needed to know. He wouldn't do that to Eames.

As the casket was being lowered into the ground, Arthur looked up. Everyone was standing on the other side. Dom was holding Ariadne as she cried into his shoulder. Yusuf just looked to be in his own thoughts.

Arthur saw something in the corner of his eye. There, leaning against a tree, smoking a cigar, was Lucifer. What was he doing here? He had no right to be here. Lucifer looked right at him, smiled and waved.

Arthur looked back down as he heard feet moving. The ceremony was over. Everyone would leave and go back to their everyday lives. But not him.

"Arthur." He looked up and saw Dom. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Of course."

"Arthur. You can't keep all your emotions built up." Ariadne added. "It isn't healthy."

"I am fine. Really, I am." He even smiled for them. He couldn't let them suspect anything. "Eames wouldn't want me moping about. He would want me to be happy and to move on with my life." Ariadne gave a brief nod before pulling him into a hug.

"I am always here for you." Dom patted him on the shoulder and Yusuf just nodded at him.

When they were all walking back to their cars, he felt a presence next to him.

"Are you ready?" He didn't have to look to know that it was Lucifer. Arthur turned and looked at the three of them, talking by their cars. He knew it was about him. He would never get to talk with them again. They would think he had disappeared off the face of the Earth, probably went crazy and killed himself.

They would soon forget all about poor heartbroken Arthur.

"I really don't have a choice, now do I?"

"No. But it goes a lot better if you go willingly." Arthur turned and looked at him.

"So, how does this work since I'm not dead?" Lucifer just smiled at him before punching his hand through his chest. Arthur gasped as he looked down. He could feel his hand on his heart, squeezing it tightly.

"Easy." Lucifer smiled as he squeezed tighter. Arthur felt light-headed. Arthur closed his eyes as he felt this pain shoot throughout him. He felt like all this weight was poured on his heart.

He felt cold and distant, like he was looking at himself from another body. It was weird. He could feel all his memories slowly slipping into his unconscious. Lucifer stepped forward so that he was inches away from his face. Arthur could feel him breathing.

"Open your eyes." Arthur slowly opened them. He could see his reflection in Lucifer's eyes. His eyes were as black as night, just as Markus' had been. Lucifer just smiled. "Now, my dear Arthur, you belong to me."

* * *

**So I do plan to do more in this series, if anyone is really interested in it. I got another idea after writing this one.**

**But I have another story that I really need to work on for another fandom and yeah, I need to do that first before I write another one.**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed it.**


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